Osteoporosis and particularly osteoporosis-related fractures are a major health problem in the United States. Approximately 10 million Americans are at risk for osteoporosis-related fractures and there are an estimated 1.5 million osteoporosis-related fractures per year. While there are several currently-approved therapies for the treatment of osteoporosis, including bisphosphonates, calcitonin, estrogen, selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMS) and intermittent parathyroid hormone (PTH) treatments, each of these has drawbacks. Estrogen treatment or hormone replacement therapy has fallen out of favor due to the increased risk of breast cancer. There are a range of bisphosphonates available that show relatively good tolerance, but there remain issues with respect to osteonecrosis of the jaw, atypical bone fragility, gastrointestinal discomfort and some cases of influenza-like illnesses. Importantly, while most bisphosphonates show good to excellent efficacy for decreasing vertebral fracture risk, none of the bisphosphonate treatments shows particularly good efficacy in preventing peripheral fractures (<30% decrease in risk). Calcitonin treatments are limited because they have yet to show a reduction in non-vertebral fracture risk. PTH is the only approved anabolic treatment for osteoporosis and is the only treatment that is moderately effective for reducing peripheral fracture risk, but there is an increased risk of osteosarcoma which limits PTH treatments to no more than 2 years. Because of lingering issues of side effects and clinical efficacy, significant efforts continue to be made in an attempt to develop more effective drugs for treating or preventing osteoporosis.